Discernment

Warning: Long fear shame rant.

As Christians, can we just stop claiming everyone has a spirit of fear if that person feels “OFF” or negatively “AWARE” of something and we don’t?

Next time you want to spank someone for “fear” why don’t you first stop the judgment and offer to pray to see what God is saying about the situation?

At times, I have been accused of having a spirit of fear, meaning I was being paranoid about nothing. The person I was speaking to wasn’t on the same channel as me. Then later I found out I was right. It truly was something or SOMEONE that I needed to stop, drop, avoid or take spiritual authority over.

30 years ago when I was an atheist, I frequented a Burger King by my apartment. I kept telling people there was something off about the guy at the drive-thru window. One late night, as I handed him my money, I locked eyes with him and we both jumped! I some how knew he was evil, and he knew he was busted!

2 days later, on a local news channel, they showed him being arrested at his job for murdering his girlfriend and disposing of her body several months earlier. God was even showing me back then what was up.

Fast forward 5 years ago, I was the last person to leave work and was locking up when a man walked into the building with his 5-year-old daughter looking for a catalog of our products. He told me he was in the area and wanted to add some of our products to his very successful internet store. I got creeped out even though he was with his daughter and told him to come back in the morning.

I told some friends later that I felt like he was lying and they were like Jeanne! He came in with a kid! Yes, and Ted Bundy was an attractive man with a fake cast on his arm. Not everything is as it appears to be.

Several days later, he was on the local news as the police were looking for him. He was from New York and was running some local scam listing and selling products from high-end manufacturers that he never shipped.

God has given us our emotions for a reason. Sometimes the fear or “heightened awareness” you feel is truly from God and warranted, even if other people don’t agree with you.

Or the fear is a warning.
Or a time for discernment.
Or maybe it’s false and trying to stop you from what God has planned for you.

But…FEAR is always a reason to stop, discern, and take action. Even if that action is to send the false fear away.

Ask God for discernment and what YOU should do next. Just because another person doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean God isn’t speaking directly to YOU about the situation.

Several times in the last month I have MISSED it, because I let others talk me out of what I was picking up. MISSED IT!!!!!!

Don’t ignore your Spiritual Spidey Sense

Sometimes it isn’t FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.

Fear shame rant over peeps!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama Bears!

God Laughs

Tales from the road: 2023 Magical Ministry Tour (Beatles, silly) 3.28.23

I stopped at a Kwik Trip in Wisconsin to use the facilities and walked by a young woman who looked around 20, applying makeup in the bathroom mirror.

God said to me as I entered a stall,” She has low self-esteem. Speak to her.”

Ok, God. She has nice hair. I’ll give her a compliment.

Aggghhh NO! I don’t have time. I need to get back on the road. Bad hair day. My hair looks like an overgrown Chia Pet. Besides, I really dislike even talking to young people in public. You know… stranger danger! 🙂

I started to wash my hands and was going to say something about her hair, and God laughed. He had other plans.

“Hi, not to be weird, but God is telling me He has better things for you to do and not to settle……”

Before I can finish, she whips around “Are you judging me because I am putting on make-up while I am working? That I should be doing something else?.” Merrowwwww!!!!!

“No, no I just heard from…..”

“Who told you to tell me?” Now she is upset, but she is only waving an eyeliner pencil at me and I think I could take her.

“No, God told me… ” then I went into how He wants her to be happy and do what makes her heart sing, even if she has to go back to school….. and then I see her eyes soften and I can tell Daddy God is touching her heart.

So I finish my word and as I walk out the door I add ” I am not trying to evangelize you, I don’t care you are putting on makeup and didn’t even know you worked here.”

The young woman smiled and thanked me as I turned to see an older woman coming out of a stall with a huge grin on her face.

I thought we were alone in the bathroom! Oh well. She was probably a Christian, just like me, enjoying the spiritual ear hustling.

Make it a God-awesome weekend.

Speak Up

I am a part of a weekly prophetic mentoring group that meets thru Zoom. This week, the leader asked if anyone wanted to share a time when they saw God working in their life. I decided to sit back as I wanted others to share as I frequently add to the conversation. God kept pressing me to say something and I thought it was just me. Nope. Going to drink my Cold Brew and be quiet. Finally, 10 minutes before the class ended, I gave in and told a quick story about bad boyfriends and how God wants us to wait for our Boaz. I started to prophesy to the single women in the group that God needed to pick out their next relationship and to stop grabbing onto the next thing who “looked” Godly. Time would tell if they were. Several people said, “Oh you are speaking to me! I needed to hear this”

One woman wrote in the chat that she had been waiting for me to say something as she knew I was supposed to. I thought really? Maybe that was the struggle in staying quiet.

What is the lesson here? If you think someone might have a word for you OR for the group speak up! Months earlier, in that same group, I said hey “so and so” I think you have a word for this person and it is JUST one word. He said the one word and then the rest rolled out and it meant so much to the recipient. We make this too hard. God is continually speaking to us ALL. Share what you are hearing.

Ha! Except for the time when a person told me God wanted me to join his MLM downline. I knew that was the “only $50 a month on auto-ship” devil.

God’s Garden

One plants, one waters, one harvests.

We need to stop thinking that we have to do it all or we aren’t a true son. That unless, in a single encounter, we can make Jesus real, score a “sinners prayer” and build a Holy Spirit down line that we are failures!

Andrew was the first of the apostles to share his faith and bring another to Christ. Andrew’s testimony touched Peter who then went on to become one of the most influential apostles. Peter wrote 2 books of the Bible and brought thousands to Christ thru Holy Spirit signs and wonders! I don’t recall a book of Andrew in my ESV, but without Andrew there would be no Peter.

I’ve had people tell me there is no way they could do what I do. Nice pat on the back and I wish I could take more credit. But, I told God a long time ago that He had to land them in my lap and then light ‘em up. No guessing who He wants to chat with. Then fill my mouth with His words. His love. His healing. With no Mall Police escort out of the building. I am not kidding 🙂

You see I don’t like to be bothered when I am shopping. Or dining. Or getting a mammogram. If you know me well, you know that I get panicked in crowds. And the first thing I look for when I enter a room is the exit.

But when God turns on the light I get out of the way and He shines. Not me. I don’t have to do anything but repeat what He tells me.

Le Him decide what part you and I play in His garden.

Have a lovely week, Beloveds!
Andy

Jake

Months ago, I had some repairs done on my home. As soon as I met “Jake” my eyes lit up. Like I had just seen an old friend. I told Jake he looked familiar “Do we know each other?” “Nope.” I figured as time drew on that I would figure out where we had met. Jake was in and out of my house for several days and we rarely said more than hello. One day, I realized why he looked so familiar. God had a word for him!

I told Jake that he was going to be the father to his children that he never had. That he was a hard worker and I appreciated his perfection and attention to detail. That all of this came easy to him because God had given him these gifts and talents. That Jake would never have to worry about securing work, because of his craftsmanship and integrity which would walk before him and pave the way. That he had struggled through some issues earlier in his life, but that was all over with. God wanted to bring him into a season of ease and provision. I then told him that the woman he was with was perfect for him. That they would fill each other’s holes from the past and heal the hurt from all of the crappy relationships each had experienced.

Jake’s mouth opened. “Did Pete tell you about me?” (Pete is his business partner) ” No. God did.” He teared up and told me about his childhood and wanting to be a better parent to his children. Jake also had an engagement ring in his pocket that he carried with him everywhere so his fiancee, Natalie, wouldn’t find it. They had been together for 10 years and he had planned a surprise for the following week. Natalie thought they were driving to the airport to pick up his cousin, but instead, he was flying them out to California where he would propose on a beach. A lot of planning had gone into this and he was nervous about making their relationship official. He was so happy about the confirmation that he had found the one.

I told Jake, who didn’t know what a WOK (word of knowledge) was that I was happy that he didn’t think I was a nut case. “No, I am a believer.” He then pointed to a tattoo on the inside of his forearm that I hadn’t noticed before. It read John 3:16. How cool and what a great reminder! Jake, God not only wants his kids to have everlasting life with Him but also experience Him AND His kingdom here on earth.

I was reminded of this story today when I was thinking about how much Big Sky Daddy wants to speak to us even more than we want to hear Him. In fact, if we can’t hear Him for ourselves, He will make sure He gets the message to us through someone else.

Have a lovely week, Beloveds.

Holy Hat Trick

It has been stressful looking for a car after mine was totaled in a recent accident. Thursday, I was even up all night looking at cars online. A photo listing kept popping up of a RAV4 that looked faded like it had sat out in the sun for a couple of years. it was also an odd color. Like the color of an old Eggplant. I could see what looked like dirt or dents on the hood and bald tires. That was probably why the car hadn’t sold and the price had dropped several times in the past month. I couldn’t understand why it kept coming up! NOPE. Unless it’s free, that ain’t my car. I imagined my friends asking me if I was in the witness protection program and sending me Eggplant emojis… 😉

I was so overwhelmed looking at cars that I finally gave in and set up an appointment to see the Eggplant as I needed to start somewhere. A saleswoman at the dealership emailed me back and set up a test drive for the next day, which was Saturday. As I was getting ready for bed, I was surprised when God started downloading a word for the saleswoman. I rarely get a long WOK or Prophecy prior to meeting someone. “God if this is you, I won’t remember all of this tomorrow!” God laughed “No, but I will.” Ok. I decided I would wait until we were done looking at cars as I didn’t want it to hinder any negotiations if I saw a car I was interested in. I just knew I wasn’t driving the Eggplant home.

When I woke up I didn’t want to go. I was tired and not excited about being trapped at a car dealer on a busy Saturday. I decided to text “Sherri” and change our meeting to Monday instead. Of course, God had other plans and He soon put my shoes on and drove me to the dealership.

As I pulled out of the parking lot to take the car for a test drive God said “tell her NOW.” I was too tired to argue with Big Sky Daddy and let it rip, “Sherri, I know this is weird but God told me last night that you really should be in the finance department so you can have better hours and make more money. Are you a single parent or have a lot of people you are responsible for? God wants to make things easier for you this year.” I went on to tell her that her coworkers loved her and that she was a bright light at work. She was a hard worker, went over and above, and was very direct. It was a lengthy word and I won’t bore you with the rest BUT…she starts crying! I am test-driving a car and the salesperson is CRYING!

She said, “how did you know all this?” I said, “God told me last night.” She said “there is no way you would know this! I cried on my way to work today and told my manager when I got in that there is an opening in finance and I want it. My daughter decided she is moving to Texas with my brother and leaving today. She is also leaving my two grandchildren with me to take care of. She can’t handle them anymore. They are 1 and 3. You don’t even know how much I needed to hear this today!” Now I started to tear up and took the next exit, “Wow. Ok, I’ll take the car. I know God set up this whole day for the both of us.”

So we went back and sat down to start the paperwork. Sherri kept telling me how blown away she was. Then she found her manager and asked me to tell her what God had said to me. The manager smiled and kept nodding her head. She is a believer too and remarked, “Yes when it comes to God there are no coincidences.” Then another employee got introduced to me and I gave him a word. I said ” Do you like your job? Because God is telling me that you are in the perfect place for you right now.” He smiled ” Great, I think so too. Besides, I was in car sales for a while and I sucked at it.” He then asked me if I was a psychic or if I gave readings. This is ALWAYS a fun one to answer.

I finally ended up in the finance office with two managers, one of them I’ll call Pete. “Pete,” asked me what I did now that I was retired. “Hmmm. Working on a book and I am in ministry. “Really?” “Yes” So Pete leaves the office and when he came back asked again, “Are you really in ministry?” “Yes” Apparently, the red hair must just throw people off as no one ever believes me 🙂. He left the office again and came back in and asked if I was a minister would I pray for him as he really needed it. “Ok, I’ll do it now”. Pete started to kind of freak out because he wasn’t expecting that. People always expect you to say yes, but forget later to pray. Why wait? 🙂 I winked at him as I assured him I wasn’t going to read his mail. Even though God showed me generally what was going on with Pete, He put these words in my mouth ” God is telling me that you regret moving here. You wonder if you made a huge mistake. But God is going to smooth everything out for you. No matter what it looks like now. You also need to stop worrying about money. God is also going to heal a relationship that you have been struggling with for quite a while this year.” Pete’s mouth dropped open and his eyes teared up for a heartbeat. It was so beautiful to witness. You can always tell when God has connected with someone’s heart because you don’t have to give out any more details. The Holy Spirit is a big boy and can handle it from there. Pete thanked me numerous times and told me how much he needed to hear from God today.

I finally got home at 5pm and sat for 2 hours unpacking what had just happened. I was more excited by Big Sky Daddy’s Hat Trick than I was about my new car! I wondered what God’s kids told their friends and family later. Sharing God’s love in action always has a ripple effect. Good reminder to share your stories.

Oh, and my car looks nothing like the photo. Clean and scratch-free, inside and out. New tires. Low mileage. MN Viking Purple. It is perfect and was waiting for me.

It was a God-awesome Saturday! This stuff NEVER gets old!

Imperfect

Sometimes I wonder how I can even be in ministry. I admit I can be terrible. Especially when I am really angry or afraid. I won’t even be fully aware of spontaneously dropping F-bombs. Rapid fire, machine gun F BOMBS! 🙂 I like to blame it on my red hair. Or the devil. It definitely isn’t His spirit in me 🙂. My therapist told me a long time ago that I need to make peace with my sometimes “highly excitable personality.” Yikes. Why can’t I just be a new person in Christ and stay there?

I was recently in a car accident. It was a shocker because I didn’t see the other car. I heard a loud bang and then saw a grey blur of metal as the impact spun my car a 180. It all happened in a heartbeat! I sat in my car shaking. What just happened? I looked down and I had red marks across my chest from the seatbelt and my left thumb was already turning colors. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that the other driver looked much older than me. Was she okay? I was shocked and sat frozen, unable to get out of my car and access the situation. I finally caught my breath and called 911 and told them there had been an accident.

Where are you located?

I am not sure. I’m really rattled. In Maple Grove. By Walmart. Across from Valvoline. By Starbucks. That side.

Where are you? Southbound? Northbound? What road?.

Uh Uh Uh, Southbound.

I started to hyperventilate. I couldn’t recall the name of the road even though I probably drive it every day. I continued to tell her the landmarks, a block from X highway etc. and she starts screaming at me!

SCREAMING!!!

MAAM! WHY DON’T YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHERE YOU ARE DRIVING!!! YOU NEED TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE STREETS YOU ARE DRIVING ON AT ALL TIMES!!! YOU NEED TO….

Her screaming was not making me think any clearer. I’m thinking, why are you yelling at me? Lady, you have no idea if I have a head injury or if my breast is cut off. Hmmm Maybe I hit my head and am worse than I realized! Now I am really panicked so I start screaming back….

Me: What the F$#@$!##@!!!!! I am rattled! I am trying to F@#$#@-ing tell you where I am and F@#$##……

OP: Stop yelling at me! Stop swearing at Me!

Me: You stop yelling at me!!!!! I’m sorry but aren’t you supposed to be the calm one? You aren’t helping this……

I mistakenly gave her the name of a street across the highway from me and she says “No you aren’t there you are on X !!!” Ahhhh….so she knew all along. 🙂 Ha! Maybe she was trying to find out if I had been day drinking.

OP: Are you blocking a lane?

Me: We are off to the side of the road and cars are going around us.

OP: THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM ASKING YOU!!!!!!! ARE YOU…..

This exchange goes on for a couple more minutes and then she finally screams “ YES YOU ARE BLOCKING A LANE!!!!! WAIT FOR AN OFFICER!!!!” Then hangs up on me. I’m thinking, don’t leave? I can’t even talk right now. I then decided to reach out for prayer so I could calm the F@$@#$# down.

We both were obviously not having a good day and she was just trying to quickly assess the situation. I cannot imagine this exchange if it was a murder scene or an abduction. Later, I told the officer that the 911 OP was a real @#$#@#. He just smiled. Hmmm, Maybe he knows her. 🙂 My sister, who showed up to help later said to me “ Do you realize when you said that he had his body cam on?”

OOPS. God is still working on this Redhead, but that doesn’t stop Him from using me. Or you.

Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Only Big Sky Daddy is perfect and He already loves and adores you. Even if you spontaneously drop an F@#$#%%.

Jared

Our young server squatted down at our table to take our order. The restaurant was packed and very noisy so maybe it made it easier to hear us. When he quickly bounced up to go grab our drinks, my sister Carolyn told “Jared” to appreciate how easily he could do that now as when you get to our age it is hard to just get out of bed some mornings. I suddenly blurted out “Are you a dancer? God is showing me a picture of you dancing.” Jared, who barely looked 18, flashed an awkward smile like….where is this going? and replied,” Yes, sometimes.” He looked like a deer in headlights, frozen in place, as I started to give him a word. Carolyn reassuringly interrupted with “she is in ministry and does this all the time.” As in, no your parents didn’t send us here. Ha!

Even though the restaurant was busy, he stayed and listened to what God was saying about him. He looked intrigued until suddenly a look of fear went over his face. Like I was going to read his mail or give some corrections. God whispered “Tell Jared that I love him. Just as he is. That he does not need to be anyone else but himself”

When I relayed this to him, Jared’s smile quickly returned and I saw a lightbulb go off. That for some reason Jared needed to hear those words. God then told me why, but I won’t share that with you :).

We paid our bill at our table and as we were leaving, Jared stopped us “Thank you, ladies! And thanks for the word and God bless you.” I was surprised that he knew the lingo. Must be or have been, at some point, a pentecostal churchgoer.

As I drove away, I felt a sweetness in my heart for Jared. And also for Big Sky Daddy. A good reminder that as believers we are spirit in a body. His spirit. You are connected to the Father at all times and you really do hear from Him. You can help change and heal this world one person at a time. The bible states that believers shall lay hands on the sick and they will recover. That also includes hearing His voice to help yourself or others emotionally heal. How awesome to be used by Him! To help His children see His love for them as you release love, hope, and encouragement. When a word hits home it brings the reality of God to the receiver. That Daddy God knows them intimately and cares deeply. Even if you are already a believer there is nothing sweeter than to see a REAL TIME GOD IN ACTION! This stuff never gets old. For the giver or the receiver.

Please step out when you get prompted. I assure you, it only gets easier and it will help build your faith too. Oh and always leave a great tip, Beloveds. Big Sky Daddy ain’t cheap and ministry is NEVER the tip.

Debby

My sister Carolyn and I had stopped at a grocery store close to my cousin’s home in Maine. As we were getting back into the truck a woman approached us “Did you drive all the way from Minnesota? I lived in Duluth for several years.” For over 20 minutes Debby continued to tell us about her life since then. We loved her strong Maine accent ….especially when she told us numerous times that her grandchildren were “sooooo SMAHHHHT.” Debby, who was 70, apologized if she smelled like Pot, but her son smoked a lot and was also growing it, in hopes of starting his own dispensary. Debby added” I had enough of that in the ’60s and ’70s. 🙂

She kept complaining about health issues and I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to pray over her, but I was waiting for a break from her long monologue. I finally said ” Can we pray for you?” and was surprised she agreed and then moved within inches of us even though she was wearing a mask. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit rattle through my right hand and my whole arm shook. Debby seemed surprised and then remarked, “I can feel that in my body! You have the gift like my friend does!” Me, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s power. Check your leg.” I kept hitting it and she continued to test it out. She was obviously delighted that her hip and leg had less pain. We then spoke healing to her heart and other ailments.

Even though it delayed our shopping trip by almost a half hour, Carolyn and I were blessed to talk and pray with her. God is everywhere. Even when you are on vacation. 🙂.

This is a good reminder that even though you might think a stranger would not be open to prayer. If you are getting that nudge, it might just be a Godly “land one in your lap” moment.

On-Time Appointments

Earlier this week, I had some strange chemical smell in my garage. The Police, Fire, and Gas company searched my property and could find no detectable combustible gas leaks. I called my appliance service company to do a closer inspection and was given an appointment for the following day. 10 minutes later I get a text that a technician was on his way. Well, that was quick! They must have had a cancellation.

So of course there is a reason for the change in the appointment. “Troy” started checking out my furnace etc. and of course, God had a word for him. Troy believed in God but didn’t know what a WOK (word of knowledge) or prophecy was. I told him that God was showing me that Troy was destined for management. He would also make an excellent trainer. He could then work his way up in the company if they chose to move him on. I was surprised when I next blurted out, “Sometimes they don’t promote employees because they are doing such a great job where they are at. Don’t be afraid of moving to another company if a door opens.”

Troy’s mouth dropped open” How do you know all of this? Yes! I am going through this right now and they want to get me training for management and they are going to start having me train others. I have already started looking at opportunities at other companies if this doesn’t move me up fast enough. Seriously, how do you know all of this?” Ha! LOL! So I explained why and had some other words for him about family and kids. Troy said,” I am sure going to remember this day. Good thing, I had an opening pop up” Yes, could have been another day and a different tech that showed up, but God had other plans for the both of us.

You can’t out cool God, peeps. Whenever I think of the times He orchestrates these encounters I just smile. I have this image of Him just smiling and nodding. Beaming! Delighting that His kids are getting IT and seeing Him in action. The Bible states in many verses that His Kingdom is not just a matter of idle talk but one of power. His power. Giving someone an encouraging word, word of wisdom or prophecy IS seeing God’s power. You are speaking prophetically into a person’s life. Same thing when you share a testimony. Lately, I seem to get these “job” words for people and that is fine with me.

Purpose to listen. Trust that you really do hear Him. Obey. Step out, even if you feel stupid. It really does get easier and easier.

You might just make someone’s day or change their life.